


As Fate Would Have It

by TheCartoonAddict927



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCartoonAddict927/pseuds/TheCartoonAddict927
Summary: It's been three months since the ninja have defeated Chen and his anacondrai army.  Chen may be gone, but the adventure is just beginning.  The ninja are each unhappy and depressed for different reasons and are making an absolute MESS of the Destiny's Bounty.  But that all changes when Nya hires a housekeeper, An energetic girl named Eve Tanaka. She seems nice, and she and the guys seem to get along.  Watch our favorite ninja embark on this coaster of events as they battle enemies old and new along with life's obstacles such as life, death, jealousy, power, and even love...Everything changes from here...Will they make it through? How will Eve turn out? and will having a housekeeper change their lives for the better?Shippings: KaixSkylor, JayxNya, ZanexOC, ColexOC, LloydxOC, OCxOC





	1. Chapter 1

Kai’s POV

“...One thing that I learned when I became a ninja is that everything always changes...the seasons, the weather, the environments, even people in general. Before I became a ninja, I was just a blacksmith with a bad attitude, I thought things never changed and everything always stayed the same no matter what happened. But after I became a ninja and met my friends and saved my sister...I realized that things ALWAYS change...Change has always been a funny thing...it can be good, it can be bad, sometimes it’s a bit of both...After we defeated Master Chen and saved Ninjago from his Anacondrai army, everything was peaceful again. We returned home to Ninjago and all of the other elemental masters returned to where they belonged. It was over, we won, we the ninja had saved the day yet again... 

...Not long after we and the elemental descendants all went our separate ways, the five of us went back to living on the Destiny’s Bounty again, and since we now had Zane back, we expected things to go back to the way they were before...but instead, things changed again…

…Suddenly everyone became absolutely miserable! Jay and Cole were still fighting over my sister, Nya, much to everyone else’s annoyance, Zane may had been back but he was also acting a bit weird, and Lloyd was still upset over the fact that his father, Lord Garmadon, the previous dark ruler that threatened to take over Ninjago, sacrificed himself and was banished to the Cursed Realm in order for the spirits of the serpentine generals to banish Chen and his army to the Cursed Realm as well. So yeah, everything was pretty much falling apart…at that point, we didn’t think things would ever be the same...

 

...Until one fateful day…

It was another beautiful day in Ninjago and the entire land was still celebrating Chen’s defeat. Parties and festivals were being thrown all over and the people rejoiced for the ninja had once again vanquished the forces of evil and saved their home. However, amongst the joy and happiness, there were six certain people that weren’t partaking in the festivities. 

The ninja were on the Destiny’s Bounty that was located in the desert not too far outside the city. The group of eight including Sensei Wu and Lloyd’s mother, Misako, were just wandering around the old flying ship going on as if it were just any ordinary day. But it didn’t remain peaceful for long. Jay and Cole were fighting over Nya again, Kai was playing “Fist 2 Face 2” in the T.V room, Misako was looking over some scrolls in the study, Nya was in her room trying to block out Cole and Jay’s arguing, and Zane decided to accompany Sensei Wu in a meditation session in his room. 

“Come on, Kai! You can do it! You can beat your own high score!” Kai said to himself as he played his video game, he was rapidly pressing the buttons and moving the joysticks like crazy, his eyes were glued to the T.V as he saw the score getting closer and closer to his all time high score. If he could beat his own record, then no one else would stand a chance against him. 

“Okay Zane...breathe…” Sensei Wu said, he and Zane were sitting on the floor in Sensei’s room legs crossed and meditating with lit incense front of them. The sweet aroma of the incense filled the room as the old sensei and the nindroid tried to clear their minds and have a smoke vision. 

The mentioned robo-ninja heeded his master’s instructions and breathed in heavily. Sensei followed him and breathed in as well.   
And then opened his eyes. “How exactly will I see the future in the smoke, Sensei?” He asked him, 

“Focus…” was all Sensei said, “In order to see through the smoke, you must clear your mind and relax…” 

Zane didn't say anything after that and just closed his eyes again and tried to clear his head. 

Nya exited her room with her hands over her ears to block out the earth ninja and the lightning ninja’s yells. She could hear everything they were yelling in the other room. The raven-haired girl just rolled her eyes and turned and started heading down the hall. It was crazy that the two made up in the Tournament Of Elements when Chen pitted them in a match against each other, and now here they were again still fighting over her. It was REALLY starting to get on everyone’s nerves, heck, it had been on her nerves since the whole feud began. Knowing that covering her ears wasn’t helping, Nya sighed and headed for the study hoping to get some peace and quiet in there. As she continued to walk down the hall she noticed that there was dirty clothes everywhere. She groaned, “Ugh! These guys need to learn to pick up after themselves!” She passed by the T.V room where she saw her brother still playing “Fist 2 Face 2”. She just smiled and quirked her eyebrow at him. 

“Hey.” She said, Kai turned to see her and smiled at his little sister. 

“Hey sis.” He replied, “How are you feeling?” He asked, Nya shrugged, “Eh, okay I guess.” The two siblings then looked in the direction of Jay and Cole still fighting. 

Kai cringed a little at the noise. “They still bothering you?” He asked her, Nya sighed. “Yeah, I mean, they’re both acting like immature adults over me! I just wish they’d stop…” Kai nodded. 

“Anyways, I’m off to the study. See you in a bit.” She said as she continued to go down the hall, “See ‘ya.” Kai replied, he then went back to his game. 

Nya entered the quiet study. It was a modest room that had shelves all around that were filled to the brim with scrolls, maps, and books from years long past. In the middle of the room was a desk where she saw Misako looking at some old paper. Her face was fixated on the page as if it had her in a trance. 

Nya smiled as she leaned up against the doorway. “Hey Misako.” The middle-aged woman looked up and smiled upon seeing the young ex-samurai. “Nya! How good to see you, dear.” She greeted kindly, Nya walked further into the room and approached the desk standing opposite of Misako. She looked down at what Misako was reading. 

“What’cha looking at?” She asked, “Oh it’s nothing...just an old letter that my husband wrote to me when we were younger…” Misako said sounding sad at the end, Nya looked down at the page and began to read it thoroughly. The letter itself was old no doubt for the page was worn and had a few tears in the corners and the letters were faded, but Nya was still able to make out what the words said. 

Nya then reached out and put a consoling hand on Misako’s shoulder. “I'm sorry, I know you and Lloyd must miss him terribly…” Nya said, Misako tried to smile and wiped away her tears. 

“It's okay, I'm fine...but Lloyd is still miserable…” She said, 

“Where is Lloyd anyway?” Nya asked her, “He's out on the deck again, he needed to be alone for awhile to think.” Misako replied, 

“He's been doing that a lot lately.” Nya pointed out, the mentioned ninia’s mother nodded. “It's been harder for him than it has been for me. I was apart from Garmadon for years so I'm used to it...unfortunately I can't say the same for him.” 

“What about when he left you both? Didn't he miss him then?” Nya asked her, 

Misako shook her head. “He was so young that he doesn't remember much, if anything at all. But now that he has really met his father, that he had a good father-son bond with him, now it hurts him.” 

Nya just sadly nodded and then left the room. Kai came down the hall and followed his sister up the stairs.   
The two siblings went up to the deck and saw Lloyd who was leaning while resting his arms on the railing looking out at Ninjago City hearing the cheers and music and noises from the large celebrations that were going on over there. He stayed silent and it was obvious that he didn’t notice that they were there. 

Both Kai and Nya just looked at him sadly. They both felt for him, they really did. They knew what it was like to lose a parent. Heck, they lost both their parents when they were young, Kai was thirteen and Nya was ten. After their parents died they lived with their grandmother until Kai was sixteen and Nya was thirteen, then their grandmother died and they were on their own. They looked at each other. 

“Should we say something?” Kai asked, Nya was hesitant for a minute but then nodded. The two walked up to the green ninja who still didn’t notice them and Nya put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey.” She said softly, Lloyd jumped and whipped around to see them. He looked scared for a second but calmed down when he realized that it was just Kai and Nya. 

“Oh, hey guys. You scared me.” He told them, “Sorry.” Kai said, “So uh...You okay?” He then asked, the great former hero of Ninjago didn’t reply and instead just sadly turned back to look at Ninjago City all aglow. After a few seconds he spoke. 

“Yeah. I’m just, thinking about my dad...I mean, I know what he did was for the greater good and all...but was it really worth it to stop an entire war?” He asked, Kai and Nya looked at each other again still feeling sorrow for their friend and then back at him. The three of them at that moment didn’t notice Sensei and Zane come up onto the deck as well to see what the problem was. When they saw Lloyd, Kai, and Nya looking miserable, they felt sorrow for them as well. But the quiet moment wa shattered when Jay and Cole came walking up onto the deck as well still arguing over Nya. 

“It’s not my fault Nya thinks that you’re annoying sometimes! You’re always over here running your mouth! I swear, none of us can ever get a moment’s peace when you’re around!” Cole insulted Jay, the lightning ninja was taken aback by the insult. 

“Oh yeah!? Well, at least Nya thinks I’m funny! You’re always so serious all the time! Take a chill pill sometime!” He retaliated, suddenly the fight was interrupted when Sensei whacked them both on the head with his bo staff. They both rubbed their heads groaning. 

“Gah, Sensei! What the hell was that for!?” Cole yelled, “Yeah! What did we do!?” Jay whined as well, Sensei then gestured to where Kai, Nya, and Lloyd were standing. They looked in their direction and their looks softened. 

“Oh…” Jay said in realization, suddenly both the ninja of lightning and the ninja of earth felt very stupid and selfish to argue when one of their brothers was going through a rough time. 

“Lloyd, because of your dad, we saved Ninjago, probably the entire world! His sacrifice shouldn’t be remembered in vain, but instead with honor…” Kai said, 

“I don’t know, I still don’t think it was worth it…” Lloyd replied, 

“Kai is right…” Sensei spoke up, the three of them turned to face him. 

“We should not let your father’s sacrifice be thought of as a mistake. You lost your father, and I lost my brother…but it was for a noble cause...” Sensei then looked down at the floorboards of the ship. It was obvious that he was pretty torn up about the situation as well, but decided to not let it affect him. He then looked back up at his nephew. “I may had not known much about your father after the evil in him took over...but what I do know that he would not want you to be like this...He sacrificed himself so Ninjago would be saved and you could continue on with your life...his loss saved your life as well as the lives of countless others...remember that…” 

Everyone just stared at Sensei, out of all the philosophical speeches and lessons he had given them in the time they had been together, that one was one of the most impacting ones yet. 

Lloyd didn’t say anything and looked down at the floorboards just like his uncle had done, then without saying another word, walked past everyone and headed below deck. Everyone else remained silent. No one really knew what to say. After a minute of silence Nya spoke up in a bubbly attitude. 

“You know what? How about I go get us all some dinner!?” She asked, the other four ninja suddenly brightened up as well. They all agreed that it was a good idea. 

“Okay then, what should we get?” She asked, “I got an idea! How about “Chen’s Noodle House”?” Cole suggested, everyone looked at him odd. After what Chen just tried to do to them, why would they want his food? 

Cole just shrugged. “What? They have good food.” 

“Alright, “Chen’s Noodle House” it is.” Nya said, “I’ll be back soon. Oh, and by the way, why is there dirty laundry everywhere?” She asked with her hands on her hips, the guys suddenly got super nervous and started stuttering and rubbing the backs of their necks trying to figure out what to say. 

“Oh yeah, sorry sis.” Kai apologized with a cheesy smile, Nya “humphed” as she crossed her arms across her chest. “Guys, I’m not your maid, clean up after yourselves, okay?” She asked them, she then headed down the latter on the side of the ship and took off. 

“Yeah okay!” Kai yelled after her, “Sure thing, Nya!” Jay added on, “We’ll get right on that!” Cole followed, they then waited until she was completely out of sight. There was a silence.   
“...You guys gonna do it?” Kai asked the others, “No.” They all replied shaking their heads simultaneously. 

It took a little longer for Nya to get to the city. Since the streets were either full of traffic or closed off for block parties, the bus she had taken to get into the city took over a half an hour to get past all of it. Eventually the bus arrived at its stop. Nya sighed with relief as she got off the bus and started heading down the sidewalk. After a few minutes she reached “Chen’s Noodle House” where she saw it in worse shape than when she last saw it. The huge animatronic Master Chen was no longer moving or talking and the light-up bowl of noodles was turned off. In front of the restaurant, a couple of young juvenile delinquents in hoodies and baggy pants were vandalizing the place. 

“Take that Chen!” One of the teenagers yelled throwing a rock and hitting the face, “Yeah! Conquer this!” Another one yelled, he then threw his rock and hit the large animatronic in the eye causing it to fall apart and sparks to fly out of it. 

“Dude nice shot!” The first teenager complimented his friend while giving him a high five, they looked to their other friends who were spray painting obscene words on the building. 

“Hahaha! Guys check this out!” One of them yelled to his friends, he then stepped back to admire his work. He spray painted the words: “Chen’s Noodles” are actually snakes!” on the front window to the restaurant and the others came up to him laughing as well. 

“Nice one man!” The first friend said, “You know what they say: “Never trust a snake”!” The group of friends proceeded to laugh. Suddenly the front door to the place opened and out came Skylor dressed in a restaurant uniform and her red hair up in a bun. She angrily glared at the teens. 

“Hey! Stop wrecking my restaurant!” She yelled, “Yeah right! Like we’d listen to you!” The second friend sassed her, “Yeah, and by the way, nice outfit loser!” Skylor was doing everything she could to not harm those boys. She gritted her teeth as she was struggling to keep her cool. 

“I’m giving you ‘till the count of three to get the hell out of here…or else...” She warned them, they continued to laugh. “Oh yeah? “Or else” what?” the lead teen asked Skylor then lifted her left hand and produced a flame out of it. The teen boys’ faces instantly switched from mischievous to fear upon seeing the flame. 

“Whoa, easy with that thing...Look we’re sorry okay? Just please don’t hurt us!” The lead teenager begged, Skylor’s look didn’t soften, she just continued to glare at the four hooligan’s that were messing up her business. Then without a word she tossed the flame at them causing the teens to jump off to the side just barely avoided getting singed, then it hit their bikes causing them to all to melt and burn to a crisp. They all looked at her shaking like leaves. 

“...Next time, it will be your butts that’ll get burned.” She threatened, the teens nodded furiously and ran off like cowards. Skylor then turned to look at the damage done to her restaurant. She sighed and sadly shook her head. Meanwhile, Nya had witnessed the whole thing from the sidelines and she had to say that she was both a little impressed, and a little terrified with how Skylor dealt with those miscreants. 

“Note to self: Never piss off Skylor.” Nya thought to herself, 

Nya walked up pretending she didn’t see that. “Hey Skylor!” She said waving, the redhead looked in her direction and smiled instantly upon seeing her. 

“Nya! Good to see you!” She said, she then looked back at her now vandalized eatery. “I’m sorry about the mess, ever since my dad was defeated and I took over the family business, well...people have been a little...touchy…” She apologized, 

“Oh no! It’s-it’s okay really! I mean, the damage doesn’t really look that bad.” Nya assured her with a weak smile, Skylor then pulled herself together. “Thanks Nya. So, what can I do for you?” She asked, “I was just coming to pick up some dinner for the guys and me.” Nya explained, Skylor instantly smiled bright. “Oh! A customer!? After so long!? I mean uh-*ahem*-uh...pl-pl-please follow me inside…” She said, then the two of them headed inside. The restaurant looked the same as it did before, the only real difference was the lack of customers in the place. Even though the place was clean and the food was fresh and smelled really good, the entire place was completely deserted. Skylor took Nya’s order and after a few minutes got her food for her. 

“So, how have the guys been doing?” Skylor asked her, “Oh you know, we’ve just been flying around on the Bounty, doing our own thing…but everyone’s been acting different…” Nya replied, 

“Different how?” Skylor asked her, “Well nobody’s not acting the way they used to. To make things worse they haven't been picking up after themselves much lately, the Bounty’s gotten messier.” 

“Wow, that's too bad. I'll have to stop by and visit sometime.” Skylor said, the raven-haired girl smiled. “We'd like that.” She replied, she then dropped the coins she was using to pay for their dinner into Skylor’s hands and took the bag of food. 

“Thanks Skylor!” She said leaving the place, “No problem, Nya! Thanks for coming!” Skylor replied, 

Nya left “Chen’s Noodle House” and headed back for the bus stop when something caught her eye. On one of the buildings, flyers and ads were taped to the wall. But one certain ad had caught the ex-samurai’s eye. She reached it out and tore it off the wall of the building and looked at it closely, it said: 

“Housekeeping Business” 

Charges: $10 an hour   
Work Hours: 8 a.m-5 p.m, Mondays-Fridays  
Traits: Kind, Hardworking, Family-Oriented, Patient, Good with kids, and Enthusiastic 

Contact Number: 555-2799

Nya hummed as she looked up from the flyer. The Bounty has been getting messier and none of the guys seemed to be bothered to straighten things up. 

Nya then got an idea. 

The Next Day:

“Come on, guys. It’s time to get up.” Cole said tiredly rubbing his eyes, the other four ninja groaned as they continued to lie in their beds trying desperately to go back to sleep. 

“Ugh! Do we have to get up!?” Jay whined, “I was having this really awesome dream where I was this monster slayer and I was fighting off monsters with this really cool sword and it was so awesome!” 

Kai and Zane followed Cole suite by getting out of bed and eventually Jay followed them as well. But they then turned and noticed Lloyd was still fast asleep in his bed. 

“Aww man! Lloyd’s still asleep!” Jay complained, 

“Someone wake him up.” Kai said annoyed, 

Zane decided to be the one to volunteer and approached the sleeping Green Ninja. After hesitating for a second, Zane lightly tapped Lloyd’s shoulder. Lloyd was still asleep. Zane decided to give him a bigger push. This one startled Lloyd and he screamed as he rolled out of bed and landed hard on the floor causing the room to shake. He shot straight up after that. 

“Whoa! Whoa! Okay, I’m up! I’m up!” He yelled frantically, “Good, now get ready.” Cole said seriously as he tossed Lloyd his uniform, the four of them got ready for the day going through the daily routines such as brushing their teeth and their hair, and checking themselves out in the mirror. Finally, they were ready to go. 

“Okay guys, let’s go!” Kai said encouragingly, the five of them headed up to the top deck where they found Sensei, Misako, and Nya smiling brighter than ever. 

“Whoa why are you guys so happy?” Lloyd asked them, “Nya has an announcement to make.” Sensei replied gesturing towards Nya. The raven-haired girl gave him a nod and began to speak. 

“Now guys, I’ve realized lately that this ship has become a pigsty.” She began, 

“Oh not this again!” Jay rolled his eyes, “And by now I know that we’re all too busy with our lives to take care of it ourselves...That’s why I decided to hire her!” She then stepped to the side to reveal a beautiful girl the ninjas’ ages. She was as tall as them and had a mixture of brown and blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders and sparkling hazel eyes. Her outfit consisted of a violet tank top and cut-off jean shorts with matching blue sandals. 

“Guys, this is Eve, she’s our new housekeeper…” Nya said smiling, all five ninja were completely speechless as they just stared at her wide-eyed, except for Lloyd and Zane who just looked at her confused and yet intrigued. Eve smiled and waved at the ninja. 

“Hi guys.” She said kindly, her voice sounded like a twenty year old’s voice but also had a childlike charm to it. 

“Eve, you know who these guys are…” Nya introduced, Eve walked up to Kai and said, “Hi! I’m Eve, nice to meet you! You’re Kai, the Master of Fire!” She said suddenly excited. 

Kai smiled and shook her hand, “Yep, that’s me! It’s nice to meet you too Eve.” He told her, Eve then moved on to Cole and Jay. 

“Hi there! You’re Jay, the Master of Lightning! And you’re Cole, the Master of Earth!” Eve greeted them, 

“Yeah that’s right!” Jay said nodding, he and eve then shared a fist bump. “Well done.” He complimented her, Cole just smiled and shook Eve’s hand and then gave her a small playful punch on the arm. Eve giggled and rubbed her arm. She then went over to Zane. 

“Greetings Miss.” He said patting her shoulder, Eve just stared at him not saying a word. Everyone else was worried that she was freaked out by Zane’s “new look”. Finally she responded. 

“...So it’s true! The White Ninja is back!” She cheered happily, “Actually, I’m the Titanium Ninja now…” Zane corrected her, Eve just smiled, “That works too.” Then she looked past the nindroid’s shoulder and saw Lloyd standing there staring at her. His face then gained a focused look as he tilted his head and looked very lost in thought, it was almost as if he was trying to see right through her. 

Lloyd stared at her hard as he racked his brain trying to think. There was something about her, something that was...different...he couldn't quite place what it was...but he knew there was something there… 

She walked past Zane and over to him. “And you...You’re Lloyd Garmadon! Son of Lord Garmadon, and the Green Ninja, and the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master! The savior of all Ninjago…” She then performed a karate bow to him. “It is a great honor to be of your service…” She said, 

“Lloyd bowed back, “Likewise.” He replied, Eve’s smiled then slipped into a frown. “I heard about what happened to your father...I’m so sorry…” She apologized, “That’s okay…” Lloyd assured her, “His sacrifice wasn’t meant to be remembered in vain, but with honor…” The rest of the guys walked over and Kai put his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. 

“Well said, Lloyd.” He said, “Well Eve, shall I show you to your quarters?” Nya asked her, Eve turned to her. “Sure, thanks.” She then turned back to the guys. “It was nice meeting all of you, I can’t wait to start working for you…” Nya then took Eve’s arm and led her downstairs to the lower deck. 

The five famous ninja looked back at Sensei and Misako who were still smiling. 

“Well, that was all we wanted you for. You may go back to sleep if you wish.” Sensei said, “Yes Sensei.” They all said together while bowing. The group of five then headed back downstairs eager to return to their quarters. 

Misako looked to Wu, confusion was now on her face. “Wu, do you think hiring Eve was a wise decision to make?” She asked him, Sensei was silent for a minute as he stroked his beard. “Only time will tell, Misako...Only time will tell…” 

The door to the ninja’s bedroom opened and the five of them came into the room sighing in relief. They changed back into their pajamas and were ready to get some more sleep. 

“Yes! We get a housekeeper AND we get to go back to sleep!? This day just gets better and better!” Jay exclaimed, 

“So, what do you guys think of Eve?” Kai asked his brothers, “She’s awesome! Jay said jumping onto his bed and landing on his back, “I like her.” Cole simply replied, “I find her company rather enjoyable.” Zane added on, Kai looked to Lloyd. “What did you think, Lloyd?” He asked him, Lloyd had to think hard for a minute before giving his response. There was still something “off” about her and he still couldn’t figure out what it was. But he knew he needed an answer before the others suspected anything. 

“Oh..uh...well..she’s okay...I guess...there’s not much to say about her, we don’t really know her yet.” He replied unsure, “Yeah you’re right about that.” Kai agreed as he climbed into bed. The rest of them followed suite. 

Jay sighed as he folded his arms behind his head starting to relax. “Awesome dream here I come.” He said, 

They all then fell asleep thinking it was nice that they now had a new member to the team.


	2. Chapter 2: A Ninja's Night Out

Oh yeah, just a quick thing, I’m using the ninja’s new looks and voices that are in the newer season and movie combined with their old looks, especially Lloyd’s changes. I just thought you all should know that that’s what they’re going to be like in this rewrite, I know some of you don’t like the new changes but I personally like them. Sometimes change is good ^^ Anyway, without further ado, here’s the next chapter!

It was later on in the day when the ninja awoke again. The sky was getting dark and the sun was now setting in the west just over the horizon. Off in the distance, Ninjago City was beginning to light up the night with all of skyscrapers and bright billboards. The air was filled with numerous voices and the streets were filled to the brim with either exhausted people who were trying to get home from work or the energetic late-night people who were trying to get to the nearest bar or the nearest department stores that had the greatest deals.

Back at the Bounty, the five famed ninja were still fast asleep in their room. They had slept the whole day away and the chances were that they were going to sleep through the night as well. They continued to sleep peacefully…

...except for one... 

Lloyd suddenly started tossing and turning in his sleep his breathing was getting heavy as his dream was scaring the heck out of him. 

He and the guys were deep within the Corridor Of Elders running from something. Suddenly all of the other elemental descendants were running with them trying to escape whatever it was that was chasing them. 

“We gotta get out of here!” Kai yelled to his brothers, “No argument here!” Jay yelled, “Agreed!” Zane continued, “Yeah! I hate snakes!” Cole yelled with a cry, Lloyd looked over his shoulder to see a huge army of Anacondrai hot on their tails, risen above them all was none other than Master Chen. 

The Green Ninja then looked to his right, his mom and Sensei Wu were also running alongside him and his friends. The snakes were coming on fast. 

“Quickly! We must get to the Bounty!” Sensei yelled, 

“Right brother!” A familiar voice yelled, he then looked to his left to see his father was with them too. 

“Dad!” Lloyd said happy to see his father, Garmadon just looked to his son obviously concerned for his safety. “Quickly son, we must get out of here!” They continued to run and the army was gaining on them. Chen laughed loudly. “You won’t escape us, Elemental Descendants!” He yelled, 

The Elemental Descendants continued to run but were stopped when they reached a dead end for one of the fallen elder statues blocked their path. They were trapped. They all turned to see chen and his army of snakes drawing in ever closer to them. Suddenly Chen’s true #2, Klaus, pulled out a very familiar book. 

“It’s the spell book…” Lloyd gasped, Klaus opened the book and began to chant in an ancient language from long ago and the ground beneath them began to crumble. Suddenly a large dark blueish purple vortex formed out of the ground and began to suck them all in. 

“Whoa whoa whoa! What’s going on!?” Jay yelled, they were getting closer to the large vortex. 

“Isn’t it obvious!? We’re getting sucked in!” Cole yelled back at him, the vortex was pulling them in closer and closer and closer. 

Chen then evilly smiled, “Enjoy the Cursed Realm.” He said, then just like that, they were all sucked into the vortex screaming. 

Lloyd shot straight up, his forehead and chest were dripping with sweat and his heart was rapidly beating out of his chest. He looked frantically around the ninjas’ room. The rest of the guys were still knocked out and his heartbeat finally slowed. 

‘It was all a dream…’ He thought to himself, He then calmly laid back down. 

After a few minutes, Jay woke up. When one of the orange sun’s rays streamed in through the window and hit his face at just the right angle, he squinted and pulled his blankets over his head to block it. It wasn’t long before the other ninja were waking up too. 

Kai rubbed his eyes with his arm and groaned. “Guys, how long were we out for?” He asked, Zane then sat up. “According to the clock inside my head, it’s just past 6pm” He replied, Kai then looked out the window to see the sun was only minutes away from completely disappearing and cause the day to turn into night. 

“Man, did we really sleep in all day?” Lloyd asked rubbing his eye with his fist as he climbed out of bed, his now deeper voice groggy with sleep. Cole yawned in response and sat up as well. “I guess so.” He replied, “It’s a shame that we didn’t do anything productive today, we got up and then went right back to sleep…” He then snickered. “Some ninja we are…” 

Then an idea hit Kai. “Hey guys, I‘ve got an idea. What we need is a guy’s night out. We’ll head into Ninjago City and we can just hang out like old times.” He told them, 

Cole tilted his head to the side. “What exactly will we do?” He asked, “Whatever things guys like us like to do. Come on, it’s a lot better than just laying around here.” He said, the others just looked at each other. They couldn't argue with him on that one.   
“Okay.” Jay said, “Yeah, let’s go.” Cole replied, “I suppose it would be rather enjoyable…” Zane also agreed, they all proceeded to get up and get dressed for their night out on the town. As they were getting ready, the Fire Ninja looked over and noticed Lloyd was still sitting on the side of his bed, looking rather troubled. 

“Hey Lloyd...You okay?” Kai asked, Lloyd didn’t reply, he was still shaken up from the awful nightmare that he had. It took him a minute before he finally replied. 

“Oh yeah, I’m fine…” He said, he then stood up from his bed and started to get dressed as well. 

The five ninja got dressed and left the Bounty to head out to Ninjago City. They took the bus there all the while keeping their disguises on so that people wouldn’t recognize them. They didn’t want to gain any attention. Kai just had his red hoodie on and had the hood up so it was hard to see his face, Jay was wearing shades and a fedora, Cole was dressed as if he were an emo goth kid with the black hoodie and eye makeup, Zane definitely had the weirdest and also the funniest disguise out of all of theirs for he was dressed in a shirt and vest that looked like clothes from the seventies along with a big poofy black afro, and Lloyd was in a light gray hoodie with shades covering his green eyes and he had a blue and purple striped beanie on his head with his light blonde bangs sticking out from underneath it. Another precaution they took was that they didn’t talk. It was a little awkward but it wasn’t too much because the rest of the bus was silent as well with the exception of a few people who were snickering at Zane’s outfit. 

Eventually they reached their destination and got off of the bus and began to walk around the city pondering on what to do. 

“Are you sure it’s safe for us to be out here, Kai?” Lloyd asked his fellow ninja unsure, “Ever since we saved Ninjago from Chen, we’ve kinda been getting easily recognized and chased by fans.” 

“I still have a bruise on my shoulder from where one girl jumped on me.” Cole chimed in, “Relax guys, with these disguises, no one will know who we are.” Kai assured them, unlike his brothers, he was not at all worried. 

“Kai, these disguises aren’t going to fool anyone, we look ridiculous.” Lloyd said taking his glasses off, “Yeah, this fedora is starting to bug me.” Jay whined as well taking the hat off, 

“I hate having to look like an emo! I don’t like wearing makeup!” Cole said almost yelling, Jay then turned to him, “Haha, you’re wearing makeup.” He teased laughing a little, in response Cole punched Jay in the arm, “Ow!” Jay whined rubbing his arm, in retaliation he pushed Cole back, Cle then pushed back harder. Kai, Zane, and Lloyd noticed that people around them were looking in their direction. 

“Guys! Could you keep it down!? We’re trying our best to NOT grab attention!” Kai yelled in a whisper,  
“No way! He’s making fun of me!” Cole snapped, “I was just having fun!” Jay replied, they then continued their fight by trying to yell over one another which the three sane ninja looked around again and noticed that some of the people were now walking towards them giving suspicious looks. At this point, Cole and Jay were in an all out brawl and were now rolling around wrestling on the ground like children. 

“Guys, this is serious! You gotta stop now!” Lloyd yelled in a whisper as well, “You’re going to get us caught!” 

“Uh Lloyd?” Kai said in a nervous manner, Lloyd looked to him, “What?” He asked, he then looked around only to notice they were surrounded by fangirls. 

Then to make things worse, Cole managed to pin Jay down which caused his hood to fall back revealing his face and Jay’s fedora and shades to fall to the ground exposing their identities to everyone. 

“It’s them, it’s the ninja!” A girl with carrot colored hair yelled, the rest of the girls screamed the group of five looked around at the literal sea of fangirls. None of them really knew what to say. 

Until one thing came to Lloyd’s mind…

“RUN!!!” He yelled from the top of his lungs, they suddenly took off and the fangirls chased after them in hot pursuit. The persistent bunch of ladies chased them for two blocks while the ninja were just barely managing to outrun them. 

“Don’t look back guys!” Cole told them, “I don’t plan on it!” Lloyd replied, “Same!” Jay agreed, “Same.” Kai and Zane then said together, the fangirls were getting closer and closer to them, they were willing to run for as long as it took to get to see their favorite heroes of Ninjago. 

“I want Kai’s gi!” A girl with black hair yelled, 

“I want Zane’s arm!” A girl with brown hair yelled right afterwards. Our brave heroes honestly didn’t know how much longer they were able to run. 

“Guys we have to do something!” Cole yelled, Lloyd then got an idea. He took off his beanie and looked back at the mob. “Here! Take my beanie!” He yelled, he then tossed the beanie back towards them and the girls began to squeal and tackle each other trying to get the hat the Green Ninja had worn. 

The other guys immediately caught on to Lloyd’s plan. They began to toss their disguises at the fangirls causing the crowd to go into a literal frenzy. All of the teenagers and young adults let their raging fangirl hormones get the best of them as they turned into literal animals. They each began to fight and wrestle each other for the ninjas’ articles of clothing trying to take them for themselves. Some were elbowing each other while others were kneeing and body-slamming each other. As this was going on, the ninja then decided to make a break for it while they were distracted. They ran around a few corners making sure they lost them and then finally ducked into an alley all out of breath and worn out. 

“...Whoa...that...was nuts…” Lloyd said in between huffs, 

“No...no kidding…” Cole nodded, “So, what do we do now?” Jay asked, Kai looked around and noticed the cinema across the street. 

“How about a movie?” He asked, Jay raised his eyebrow, “A movie?” He asked, “Affirmative, there’s probably something good out right now. Plus, it’s dark in there so no one will see our faces very well.” Zane explained, 

“That is..unless you want to stay out here where the ladies to keep you company?” Kai smirked as he gestured to the mob of fangirls who were now no longer distracted and continuing their manhunt for them. None of them looked too happy. One girl tightly clenched Zane’s weird afro seething with rage. 

“Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY!?” She yelled ripping the fake afro in half, all of the color instantly drained from Jay’s face upon seeing them. 

He gulped, “...Let’s go!” 

They entered the movie theater and decided to check out the latest Fritz Donnigan movie. They entered the theater that was playing it and struggled to find their seats in the dark. 

“Ow! Watch where you're going!” Jay snapped at someone that bumped into them as they went up the aisle. Them moving around trying to find seats was a problem to the other patrons in the theater for they were getting bumped into or they were blocking their view when moving past them. This caused them to give the ninja dirty glares and in response they apologized to them. Eventually they found seats at the very back of the theater, the only problem was that it was slightly hard to hear the movie. 

“Man I can't hear a word they're saying!” Cole said annoyed, the people in the row in front of them turned and shushed him. 

“Whatever! We're not here to see a movie, we’re just waiting until the coast is clear.” Kai told him, 

Then things got even worse when a huge guy came up the aisle and sat in the room in front of them blocking their view. 

“Aww what!? Now we can't see!” Jay whined, Cole then tapped the guy on the shoulder and the guy turned to face him angrily. 

“Listen buddy! You're blocking our view! Get lost!” He snapped, the guy just continued to glare at Cole angrily and obviously not recognizing him in the dark. 

The Earth ninja stared the man in the eye and the man stared back and the two were in an evil stare-off. The contest lasted for two minutes until the guy’s glare got scarier and Cole decided to back off. The guys then left the theater. 

“Aww man that was so embarrassing! Why do you have to go mouthing off to the wrong people!?” Jay asked, 

“Hey! It wasn't my fault he sat in front of us! Plus, I'm not the one here with the big mouth. You are!” Cole insulted him, 

“What!? I do NOT have a big mouth!” Jay retaliated, the two proceeded to argue as Kai, Lloyd, and Zane were looking at them with slight fear that they were going to gain more attention. They no longer had their disguises so they couldn’t be seen. In a quick move Zane grabbed Cole and slapped his hand over his mouth and began to drag him out of the public’s view. Lloyd did the same with Jay. Both the Earth and Lightning wielders struggled and protested at their friends grabbing them and pulling them. Kai began to look around for a place where they could hide again. He looked over and saw “Chen’s Noodle House”. “Zane, come on. We’ll hide in “Chen’s Noodle House”.” Kai told Zane, the nindroid nodded in understanding and they dragged them into the abandoned restaurant that still had no customers and was still damaged from the vandalism that the ruthless teens gave it the day before. 

When they entered Lloyd instantly jumped and let go of his hold on Jay.   
“Eueck! Jay! Did you just lick my hand!?” He yelled wiping his hand on his grey hoodie, Jay wiped his mouth. “Yeah! It was the only way to get your hand off of my mouth! I couldn’t breathe!” He retaliated, 

“Well we should be perfectly hidden in here, Nya told me that no one comes in here anymore.” Kai explained to them, suddenly Skylor came out of the kitchen straightening out her work uniform. She then looked up and noticed the guys. Her face brightened up. 

“Hey guys!” She said cheerfully, Kai just gave her a weak smile. After not seeing her for a while, it wa kind of awkward for him, plus her knowing that he liked her made things even worse. 

Skylor was obviously a little uncomfortable with seeing him too. She didn’t want to feel that way, but she did. But she decided to shake it off. 

“So uh, what are you guys doing here?” She asked, “We’re just trying to hide from the fangirls, they can’t get enough of us.” Jay said smugly, Skylor just giggled and replied, “I can see why. Is there anything else I can do for you guys?” Suddenly all five of the ninjas’ stomachs growled. 

“You guys hungry? Cause I can have the chefs in the back whip something up for you guys, free of charge of course.” Skylor winked, the guys looked at each other and nodded. “Sure we’ll take five number sevens.” Kai said, “Okay, just go sit anywhere and your food will be out shortly. I only have one other customer here.” Skylor said, the ninja nodded and looked around for somewhere to sit. They finally found a booth and sat down. As they waited for their food, Kai stared at Skylor dreamily not paying attention to the others. 

“Hello?” Lloyd said snapping his fingers in front of Kai trying to bring him back to reality. Kai snapped out of it and looked at the others blushing slightly. 

“Oh! S-Sorry guys, I was uh..just a little distracted.” He apologized, “Yeah, “A little distracted.” Cole repeated using air quotes, “Does she even still like you that way?” He asked, “I mean, she doesn’t seem very comfortable around you. That’s a problem.” 

Kai sighed and leaned his head against his hand. “I don’t even know anymore. Sure my feelings for her haven’t changed but I can’t tell whether she’s into me or not.” 

“Well why don’t you go and ask her yourself?” A voice spoke up, the guys then looked over into the booth next to them to see Eve eating noodles. 

“EVE!?” They all said together, she turned and smiled at them. “Hey fellas!” She replied, 

“What are you doing here?” Jay asked her, Eve just giggled. “Well, this place may have gone downhill, but they still have the best noodles in all of Ninjago.” She got out of her booth and walked over to theirs and sat down with them.   
“Do you like that girl, Kai?” She asked, the Fire Ninja blushed some more and looked down at the table. “Y...Yeah.” He replied, “Well if you like her, then you'd better find out how she feels about you. If you do nothing, then nothing will happen.” She said, Kai gave it some thought, then without saying another word, got up from the table and headed over to where Skylor was working. 

“Eve how did you do that!?” Jay asked, “Do what?” Eve asked back, “How did you convince Kai to go talk to Skylor. That’s what he's asking.” Lloyd said slightly annoyed, 

“Oh! Well there's really nothing to it. You just gotta know a thing or two about what girls like.” She said giving a wink, 

“Have you been in many relationships to know this information?” Zane asked her, “No, not really. I just know this stuff ‘cause I'm a girl. Boys never really paid attention to me.” She said sadly, each of the guys consoled her except for Lloyd who just rolled his eyes. “Well, I’d better get back to my table…” She said, she then got up and walked away. 

Kai nervously approached Skylor. She didn't notice him walk up. 

“Hey Skylor.” He said shyly, Skylor looked to him and her face began to turn red. 

“Oh uh, hey Kai.” She said awkwardly, Kai rubbed the back of his head thinking of something to say. “You know, I uh..I-I really missed you.”   
The redhead’s blush deepened when she heard that. “R-Really?” She stuttered, “Yeah. Really.” Kai nodded, “Is there something you needed?” She asked him, “No no I just wanted to see how you were doing since I last saw you.” He answered, “Eh, it's been slow around here. I guess trying to take over Ninjago wasn't my father’s best business decision.” Skylor said laughing a little. She then looked to the ground a little sad. Kai could tell that she still missed her dad. “I'm sorry, I know you still miss him.” He apologized putting a hand on her shoulder, Skylor looked up at him smiling, all of her sadness gone. “It's okay, you guys did what you had to do.” There was an awkward silence, 

“Well, I’d better get back to work.” Skylor told him, she began to walk away when something inside Kai snapped. 

“Wait! I wanna go out with you!” He said all of a sudden, Skylor stopped abruptly and looked back to him, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were now redder than ever. 

“A-A date?” She stuttered slightly, “That is unless you  
Don't want to.” Kai said to her, “No no! I want to!” Skylor said a little too loud, she then cleared her throat and spoke softer. “I mean I would love to.” 

“Okay then, what night are you free?” He asked her, “I’m free on Saturday.” She replied, “Alright! Saturday it is then!” He then decided to be bold and kissed her on the cheek which took her slightly aback. He then ran back towards his table. “Saturday!” He repeated, Skylor just put her left hand to her cheek and after a minute blushed and gave a small chuckle. 

“So how did it go?” Jay said teasingly, Kai walked in a swaggering motion back to their table and sat back down with them. 

“Great! We have a date next Saturday. You were totally right, Eve! Thanks-!” Kai stopped dead when looked over to the booth where Eve was sitting only to find that she was gone. The money for her meal was on the table along with a tip. 

“Hey, where’d she go?” Jay asked, 

“Who really cares?” Lloyd asked with attitude, the other four ninja looked at him surprised. “Whoa Lloyd, that doesn’t sound like you.” Cole pointed out, “Nothing, I’m just saying we shouldn’t worry about it.” The Green Ninja replied, Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole looked at each other and shrugged. They decided to not dwell on it and when their food arrived, they finally dug in.


	3. Chapter 2: A Ninja's Night Out

It was later on in the day when the ninja awoke again. The sky was getting dark and the sun was now setting in the west just over the horizon. Off in the distance, Ninjago City was beginning to light up the night with all of skyscrapers and bright billboards. The air was filled with numerous voices and the streets were filled to the brim with either exhausted people who were trying to get home from work or the energetic late-night people who were trying to get to the nearest bar or the nearest department stores that had the greatest deals.

Back at the Bounty, the five famed ninja were still fast asleep in their room. They had slept the whole day away and the chances were that they were going to sleep through the night as well. They continued to sleep peacefully…

...except for one... 

Lloyd suddenly started tossing and turning in his sleep his breathing was getting heavy as his dream was scaring the heck out of him. 

_He and the guys were deep within the Corridor Of Elders running from something. Suddenly all of the other elemental descendants were running with them trying to escape whatever it was that was chasing them._

_“We gotta get out of here!” Kai yelled to his brothers, “No argument here!” Jay yelled, “Agreed!” Zane continued, “Yeah! I hate snakes!” Cole yelled with a cry, Lloyd looked over his shoulder to see a huge army of Anacondrai hot on their tails, risen above them all was none other than Master Chen._

_The Green Ninja then looked to his right, his mom and Sensei Wu were also running alongside him and his friends. The snakes were coming on fast._

_“Quickly! We must get to the Bounty!” Sensei yelled,_

_“Right brother!” A familiar voice yelled, he then looked to his left to see his father was with them too._

_“Dad!” Lloyd said happy to see his father, Garmadon just looked to his son obviously concerned for his safety. “Quickly son, we must get out of here!” They continued to run and the army was gaining on them. Chen laughed loudly. “You won’t escape us, Elemental Descendants!” He yelled,_

_The Elemental Descendants continued to run but were stopped when they reached a dead end for one of the fallen elder statues blocked their path. They were trapped. They all turned to see chen and his army of snakes drawing in ever closer to them. Suddenly Chen’s true #2, Klaus, pulled out a very familiar book._

_“It’s the spell book…” Lloyd gasped, Klaus opened the book and began to chant in an ancient language from long ago and the ground beneath them began to crumble. Suddenly a large dark blueish purple vortex formed out of the ground and began to suck them all in._

_“Whoa whoa whoa! What’s going on!?” Jay yelled, they were getting closer to the large vortex._

_“Isn’t it obvious!? We’re getting sucked in!” Cole yelled back at him, the vortex was pulling them in closer and closer and closer._

_Chen then evilly smiled, “Enjoy the Cursed Realm.” He said, then just like that, they were all sucked into the vortex screaming._

Lloyd shot straight up, his forehead and chest were dripping with sweat and his heart was rapidly beating out of his chest. He looked frantically around the ninjas’ room. The rest of the guys were still knocked out and his heartbeat finally slowed. 

‘It was all a dream…’ He thought to himself, He then calmly laid back down. 

After a few minutes, Jay woke up. When one of the orange sun’s rays streamed in through the window and hit his face at just the right angle, he squinted and pulled his blankets over his head to block it. It wasn’t long before the other ninja were waking up too. 

Kai rubbed his eyes with his arm and groaned. “Guys, how long were we out for?” He asked, Zane then sat up. “According to the clock inside my head, it’s just past 6pm” He replied, Kai then looked out the window to see the sun was only minutes away from completely disappearing and cause the day to turn into night. 

“Man, did we really sleep in all day?” Lloyd asked rubbing his eye with his fist as he climbed out of bed, his now deeper voice groggy with sleep. Cole yawned in response and sat up as well. “I guess so.” He replied, “It’s a shame that we didn’t do anything productive today, we got up and then went right back to sleep…” He then snickered. “Some ninja we are…” 

Then an idea hit Kai. “Hey guys, I‘ve got an idea. What we need is a guy’s night out. We’ll head into Ninjago City and we can just hang out like old times.” He told them, 

Cole tilted his head to the side. “What exactly will we do?” He asked, “Whatever things guys like us like to do. Come on, it’s a lot better than just laying around here.” He said, the others just looked at each other. They couldn't argue with him on that one.   
“Okay.” Jay said, “Yeah, let’s go.” Cole replied, “I suppose it would be rather enjoyable…” Zane also agreed, they all proceeded to get up and get dressed for their night out on the town. As they were getting ready, the Fire Ninja looked over and noticed Lloyd was still sitting on the side of his bed, looking rather troubled. 

“Hey Lloyd...You okay?” Kai asked, Lloyd didn’t reply, he was still shaken up from the awful nightmare that he had. It took him a minute before he finally replied. 

“Oh yeah, I’m fine…” He said, he then stood up from his bed and started to get dressed as well. 

The five ninja got dressed and left the Bounty to head out to Ninjago City. They took the bus there all the while keeping their disguises on so that people wouldn’t recognize them. They didn’t want to gain any attention. Kai just had his red hoodie on and had the hood up so it was hard to see his face, Jay was wearing shades and a fedora, Cole was dressed as if he were an emo goth kid with the black hoodie and eye makeup, Zane definitely had the weirdest and also the funniest disguise out of all of theirs for he was dressed in a shirt and vest that looked like clothes from the seventies along with a big poofy black afro, and Lloyd was in a light gray hoodie with shades covering his green eyes and he had a blue and purple striped beanie on his head with his light blonde bangs sticking out from underneath it. Another precaution they took was that they didn’t talk. It was a little awkward but it wasn’t too much because the rest of the bus was silent as well with the exception of a few people who were snickering at Zane’s outfit. 

Eventually they reached their destination and got off of the bus and began to walk around the city pondering on what to do. 

“Are you sure it’s safe for us to be out here, Kai?” Lloyd asked his fellow ninja unsure, “Ever since we saved Ninjago from Chen, we’ve kinda been getting easily recognized and chased by fans.” 

“I still have a bruise on my shoulder from where one girl jumped on me.” Cole chimed in, “Relax guys, with these disguises, no one will know who we are.” Kai assured them, unlike his brothers, he was not at all worried. 

“Kai, these disguises aren’t going to fool anyone, we look ridiculous.” Lloyd said taking his glasses off, “Yeah, this fedora is starting to bug me.” Jay whined as well taking the hat off, 

“I hate having to look like an emo! I don’t like wearing makeup!” Cole said almost yelling, Jay then turned to him, “Haha, you’re wearing makeup.” He teased laughing a little, in response Cole punched Jay in the arm, “Ow!” Jay whined rubbing his arm, in retaliation he pushed Cole back, Cle then pushed back harder. Kai, Zane, and Lloyd noticed that people around them were looking in their direction. 

“Guys! Could you keep it down!? We’re trying our best to NOT grab attention!” Kai yelled in a whisper,

“No way! He’s making fun of me!” Cole snapped, “I was just having fun!” Jay replied, they then continued their fight by trying to yell over one another which the three sane ninja looked around again and noticed that some of the people were now walking towards them giving suspicious looks. At this point, Cole and Jay were in an all out brawl and were now rolling around wrestling on the ground like children. 

“Guys, this is serious! You gotta stop now!” Lloyd yelled in a whisper as well, “You’re going to get us caught!” 

“Uh Lloyd?” Kai said in a nervous manner, Lloyd looked to him, “What?” He asked, he then looked around only to notice they were surrounded by fangirls. 

Then to make things worse, Cole managed to pin Jay down which caused his hood to fall back revealing his face and Jay’s fedora and shades to fall to the ground exposing their identities to everyone. 

“It’s them, it’s the ninja!” A girl with carrot colored hair yelled, the rest of the girls screamed the group of five looked around at the literal sea of fangirls. None of them really knew what to say. 

Until one thing came to Lloyd’s mind…

“RUN!!!” He yelled from the top of his lungs, they suddenly took off and the fangirls chased after them in hot pursuit. The persistent bunch of ladies chased them for two blocks while the ninja were just barely managing to outrun them. 

“Don’t look back guys!” Cole told them, “I don’t plan on it!” Lloyd replied, “Same!” Jay agreed, “Same.” Kai and Zane then said together, the fangirls were getting closer and closer to them, they were willing to run for as long as it took to get to see their favorite heroes of Ninjago. 

“I want Kai’s gi!” A girl with black hair yelled, 

“I want Zane’s arm!” A girl with brown hair yelled right afterwards. Our brave heroes honestly didn’t know how much longer they were able to run. 

“Guys we have to do something!” Cole yelled, Lloyd then got an idea. He took off his beanie and looked back at the mob. “Here! Take my beanie!” He yelled, he then tossed the beanie back towards them and the girls began to squeal and tackle each other trying to get the hat the Green Ninja had worn. 

The other guys immediately caught on to Lloyd’s plan. They began to toss their disguises at the fangirls causing the crowd to go into a literal frenzy. All of the teenagers and young adults let their raging fangirl hormones get the best of them as they turned into literal animals. They each began to fight and wrestle each other for the ninjas’ articles of clothing trying to take them for themselves. Some were elbowing each other while others were kneeing and body-slamming each other. As this was going on, the ninja then decided to make a break for it while they were distracted. They ran around a few corners making sure they lost them and then finally ducked into an alley all out of breath and worn out. 

“...Whoa...that...was nuts…” Lloyd said in between huffs, 

“No...no kidding…” Cole nodded, “So, what do we do now?” Jay asked, Kai looked around and noticed the cinema across the street. 

“How about a movie?” He asked, Jay raised his eyebrow, “A movie?” He asked, “Affirmative, there’s probably something good out right now. Plus, it’s dark in there so no one will see our faces very well.” Zane explained, 

“That is..unless you want to stay out here where the ladies to keep you company?” Kai smirked as he gestured to the mob of fangirls who were now no longer distracted and continuing their manhunt for them. None of them looked too happy. One girl tightly clenched Zane’s weird afro seething with rage. 

“Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY!?” She yelled ripping the fake afro in half, all of the color instantly drained from Jay’s face upon seeing them. 

He gulped, “...Let’s go!” 

They entered the movie theater and decided to check out the latest Fritz Donnigan movie. They entered the theater that was playing it and struggled to find their seats in the dark. 

“Ow! Watch where you're going!” Jay snapped at someone that bumped into them as they went up the aisle. Them moving around trying to find seats was a problem to the other patrons in the theater for they were getting bumped into or they were blocking their view when moving past them. This caused them to give the ninja dirty glares and in response they apologized to them. Eventually they found seats at the very back of the theater, the only problem was that it was slightly hard to hear the movie. 

“Man I can't hear a word they're saying!” Cole said annoyed, the people in the row in front of them turned and shushed him. 

“Whatever! We're not here to see a movie, we’re just waiting until the coast is clear.” Kai told him, 

Then things got even worse when a huge guy came up the aisle and sat in the room in front of them blocking their view. 

“Aww what!? Now we can't see!” Jay whined, Cole then tapped the guy on the shoulder and the guy turned to face him angrily. 

“Listen buddy! You're blocking our view! Get lost!” He snapped, the guy just continued to glare at Cole angrily and obviously not recognizing him in the dark. 

The Earth ninja stared the man in the eye and the man stared back and the two were in an evil stare-off. The contest lasted for two minutes until the guy’s glare got scarier and Cole decided to back off. The guys then left the theater. 

“Aww man that was so embarrassing! Why do you have to go mouthing off to the wrong people!?” Jay asked, 

“Hey! It wasn't my fault he sat in front of us! Plus, I'm not the one here with the big mouth. You are!” Cole insulted him, 

“What!? I do NOT have a big mouth!” Jay retaliated, the two proceeded to argue as Kai, Lloyd, and Zane were looking at them with slight fear that they were going to gain more attention. They no longer had their disguises so they couldn’t be seen. In a quick move Zane grabbed Cole and slapped his hand over his mouth and began to drag him out of the public’s view. Lloyd did the same with Jay. Both the Earth and Lightning wielders struggled and protested at their friends grabbing them and pulling them. Kai began to look around for a place where they could hide again. He looked over and saw “Chen’s Noodle House”. “Zane, come on. We’ll hide in “Chen’s Noodle House”.” Kai told Zane, the nindroid nodded in understanding and they dragged them into the abandoned restaurant that still had no customers and was still damaged from the vandalism that the ruthless teens gave it the day before. 

When they entered Lloyd instantly jumped and let go of his hold on Jay. 

“Eueck! Jay! Did you just lick my hand!?” He yelled wiping his hand on his grey hoodie, Jay wiped his mouth. “Yeah! It was the only way to get your hand off of my mouth! I couldn’t breathe!” He retaliated, 

“Well we should be perfectly hidden in here, Nya told me that no one comes in here anymore.” Kai explained to them, suddenly Skylor came out of the kitchen straightening out her work uniform. She then looked up and noticed the guys. Her face brightened up. 

“Hey guys!” She said cheerfully, Kai just gave her a weak smile. After not seeing her for a while, it wa kind of awkward for him, plus her knowing that he liked her made things even worse. 

Skylor was obviously a little uncomfortable with seeing him too. She didn’t want to feel that way, but she did. But she decided to shake it off. 

“So uh, what are you guys doing here?” She asked, “We’re just trying to hide from the fangirls, they can’t get enough of us.” Jay said smugly, Skylor just giggled and replied, “I can see why. Is there anything else I can do for you guys?” Suddenly all five of the ninjas’ stomachs growled. 

“You guys hungry? Cause I can have the chefs in the back whip something up for you guys, free of charge of course.” Skylor winked, the guys looked at each other and nodded. “Sure we’ll take five number sevens.” Kai said, “Okay, just go sit anywhere and your food will be out shortly. I only have one other customer here.” Skylor said, the ninja nodded and looked around for somewhere to sit. They finally found a booth and sat down. As they waited for their food, Kai stared at Skylor dreamily not paying attention to the others. 

“Hello?” Lloyd said snapping his fingers in front of Kai trying to bring him back to reality. Kai snapped out of it and looked at the others blushing slightly. 

“Oh! S-Sorry guys, I was uh..just a little distracted.” He apologized, “Yeah, “A little distracted.” Cole repeated using air quotes, “Does she even still like you that way?” He asked, “I mean, she doesn’t seem very comfortable around you. That’s a problem.” 

Kai sighed and leaned his head against his hand. “I don’t even know anymore. Sure my feelings for her haven’t changed but I can’t tell whether she’s into me or not.” 

“Well why don’t you go and ask her yourself?” A voice spoke up, the guys then looked over into the booth next to them to see Eve eating noodles. 

“EVE!?” They all said together, she turned and smiled at them. “Hey fellas!” She replied, 

“What are you doing here?” Jay asked her, Eve just giggled. “Well, this place may have gone downhill, but they still have the best noodles in all of Ninjago.” She got out of her booth and walked over to theirs and sat down with them. 

“Do you like that girl, Kai?” She asked, the Fire Ninja blushed some more and looked down at the table. “Y...Yeah.” He replied, “Well if you like her, then you'd better find out how she feels about you. If you do nothing, then nothing will happen.” She said, Kai gave it some thought, then without saying another word, got up from the table and headed over to where Skylor was working. 

“Eve how did you do that!?” Jay asked, “Do what?” Eve asked back, “How did you convince Kai to go talk to Skylor. That’s what he's asking.” Lloyd said slightly annoyed, 

“Oh! Well there's really nothing to it. You just gotta know a thing or two about what girls like.” She said giving a wink, 

“Have you been in many relationships to know this information?” Zane asked her, “No, not really. I just know this stuff ‘cause I'm a girl. Boys never really paid attention to me.” She said sadly, each of the guys consoled her except for Lloyd who just rolled his eyes. “Well, I’d better get back to my table…” She said, she then got up and walked away. 

Kai nervously approached Skylor. She didn't notice him walk up. 

“Hey Skylor.” He said shyly, Skylor looked to him and her face began to turn red. 

“Oh uh, hey Kai.” She said awkwardly, Kai rubbed the back of his head thinking of something to say. “You know, I uh..I-I really missed you.” 

The redhead’s blush deepened when she heard that. “R-Really?” She stuttered, “Yeah. Really.” Kai nodded, “Is there something you needed?” She asked him, “No no I just wanted to see how you were doing since I last saw you.” He answered, “Eh, it's been slow around here. I guess trying to take over Ninjago wasn't my father’s best business decision.” Skylor said laughing a little. She then looked to the ground a little sad. Kai could tell that she still missed her dad. “I'm sorry, I know you still miss him.” He apologized putting a hand on her shoulder, Skylor looked up at him smiling, all of her sadness gone. “It's okay, you guys did what you had to do.” There was an awkward silence, 

“Well, I’d better get back to work.” Skylor told him, she began to walk away when something inside Kai snapped. 

“Wait! I wanna go out with you!” He said all of a sudden, Skylor stopped abruptly and looked back to him, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were now redder than ever. 

“A-A date?” She stuttered slightly, “That is unless you  
Don't want to.” Kai said to her, “No no! I want to!” Skylor said a little too loud, she then cleared her throat and spoke softer. “I mean I would love to.” 

“Okay then, what night are you free?” He asked her, “I’m free on Saturday.” She replied, “Alright! Saturday it is then!” He then decided to be bold and kissed her on the cheek which took her slightly aback. He then ran back towards his table. “Saturday!” He repeated, Skylor just put her left hand to her cheek and after a minute blushed and gave a small chuckle. 

“So how did it go?” Jay said teasingly, Kai walked in a swaggering motion back to their table and sat back down with them. 

“Great! We have a date next Saturday. You were totally right, Eve! Thanks-!” Kai stopped dead when looked over to the booth where Eve was sitting only to find that she was gone. The money for her meal was on the table along with a tip. 

“Hey, where’d she go?” Jay asked, 

“Who really cares?” Lloyd asked with attitude, the other four ninja looked at him surprised. “Whoa Lloyd, that doesn’t sound like you.” Cole pointed out, “Nothing, I’m just saying we shouldn’t worry about it.” The Green Ninja replied, Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole looked at each other and shrugged. They decided to not dwell on it and when their food arrived, they finally dug in.


	4. Chapter 3: Getting Along

**One Week Later**

Eve’s alarm clock rung throughout her room. Being the housekeeper, Eve woke up a bit earlier than the guys. Fortunately for them her bedroom door was closed so they didn't hear the loud alarm from down the hall. Eve slammed her hand on the snooze button to make it shut up and sighed for she didn’t feel like getting up from her nice warm bed. But she finally got enough energy to extract herself from the bed and stood up giving a stretch. 

Today was another day. 

She quickly got dressed in a pink T-shirt and jeans and brushed out her brown and blonde hair. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hazel eyes were a little tired and still had a bit of sleep crust in them so she rubbed her eyes to get the sleep crust out. Eve then quietly left her room and headed down the hall to get started on her morning chores. 

She had a bit on her plate today. First she had to set up the training dummies and the sparring bot out on the top deck so the guys could practice, then she had to re-alphabetize the scrolls and the books in the study, and after that she had to clean up the ninjas’ room which in her opinion, was her least favorite job. 

Nya wasn’t kidding when she said that the boys didn’t pick up after themselves, their room looked like a literal tornado went right through it! Well, except for Zane’s bunk, the nindroid actually kept his space very clean so that she didn't have to fix it. But other than him, the other four guys were complete slobs! The other day, she was in there and the floor was littered with dirty clothes that desperately needed washing. While she was making their beds, she found a pizza slice in Cole’s bunk. A PIZZA SLICE! That’s just disgusting! Eve nearly threw up when that happened! But besides that, everything was going smoothly. The Bounty was looking a lot cleaner and everyone was so nice to her. She only hoped that this would last. 

She entered the kitchen area where she was going to fix herself some cereal only to see Misako at the stove fixing breakfast. The older woman smiled upon seeing her. 

“Morning Eve!” She said kindly, Eve smiled back, “Morning Misako.” She replied as she walked over to her, “Making breakfast?” She asked her, Misako nodded. “Yep, should be ready in about a few minutes…” She then slid a blue mug across the counter. “Here’s your coffee.” The young housekeeper took the mug, said “Thank you”, and sipped it gratefully enjoying the feeling of the hot liquid going down her throat. 

A few minutes later, breakfast was ready and the guys still weren’t up. Eve took her breakfast to the dining room and quickly scarfed down her pancakes and hurried off to go set up the training stuff for the ninja. 

She struggled as she pulled out the heavy practice dummies and the targets getting them into position. She decided to set the dummies and the targets up so that each ninja would have their own area to practice in. She then pulled out the sparring bot slightly afraid that it would accidentally turn on and attack her. With a shaking hand, she turned it on and the sparring bot began to swing its many arms each holding a weapon around and around causing Eve to step back out of fear of accidentally getting hit. Knowing that her job was done she headed back below deck and set the table for the guys and left to get started on her chore in the study. She reentered the kitchen and headed for the hallway where she heard an alarm go off down the hall instantly followed by five groans. A few minutes later, the guys emerged from their room dressed in their uniforms and entered the kitchen. Each of them, except for Zane for he was wide awake due to being a robot who could not feel tired, were rubbing their still eyes and yawning as they headed for the dining room to eat. 

“Oh! Morning guys!” Eve smiled giving a wave, Kai waved tiredly and made a weak smile as he slouched past her, “Hey Eve…” He said, “Yeah, hey Eve…” Jay said smiling weakly as well, Cole and Zane also greeted her. But when Eve saw Lloyd enter the dining room last, she was taken aback at what she saw. Lloyd looked like he slept the worst out of the five of them, his vibrant green eyes were hazy and bloodshot with a bit of sleep crust in them, his skin was slightly paler, and his now longer blonde hair was a mess. Eve gave him a weak smile trying to be polite. 

“...Morning, Lloyd…” She smiled, he just looked at her seriously and he didn’t smile back like the others did, he didn't say anything then continued walking. 

The five ninja took their seats at the table where Eve had already laid out breakfast for them. God were they tired, if only they didn't have to train today. 

Jay was leaning on his elbow, head resting in his hand as he turned his fork over in his pancakes. “Man, it sucks we have training today.” He whined, the wielder of lightning usually loved to train, but today he just wasn't feeling it. 

“Tell me about it.” Cole agreed, “Remind me again why we couldn't take the day off?” He asked looking at Kai, Kai sipped some of his coffee hoping it would wake him up. 

He looked to the ninja of Earth and replied, “Because if we did, Sensei would be upset and then he'd proceed to go on a long speech about how important it is to build our strength and improve as people blah blah blah…” He stopped talking for a minute and forked a huge piece of pancake and popped it into his mouth and chewed then swallowed. “And we'd never hear the end of it…” he finished, none of the ninja liked to disrespect their sensei, but their exhaustion was to blame for this one. 

“Yeah, then he'd most likely smack me on the head with his staff and it would hurt really bad...” Jay continued unaware that Sensei Wu had entered the room and was standing right behind him. The guys just stared at Sensei as Jay continued to talk. He noticed their blank stares and was confused. “What?” He asked, his question was then answered when Sensei smacked him on the head with his staff as expected. 

“Ow!” Jay yelled rubbing his aching scalp, he swore that his head was starting to bruise since Sensei hit him so hard in the same spot so many times. 

The wise old man then sat down at the table with them and proceeded to eat his oatmeal and sip his tea. He sighed, it disappointed him that his students were no longer eager to train. They still had a lot of potential in them and it was a shame to see  
Them waste it. 

Lloyd sighed, he was the most tired of them. He didn’t sleep well the night before. He had that nightmare again, the one where he, the guys, his family, and the elemental descendants got sucked into the Cursed Realm. Like before, it still scared him. He didn’t know why he was having this dream or what it meant, but he knew he shouldn't tell anyone just yet, the e wanted to try to not think about it. Plus, he didn’t want to get any attention from the guys or his mom and uncle. The last thing he needed was for the guys to fuss over him, they were all like his brothers after all, and knowing them, they would make a huge deal out of it. His mom and uncle wouldn’t help matters either. 

As the others complained about being tired, he just blankly stared into his cereal that he was eating since he wasn't much of a pancake person. His fellow teammates and his uncle took notice of his quiet behavior, they thought it was odd, tired or not, Lloyd was always rather perky in the mornings. 

“Hey Lloyd...you uh..you doing okay?” Zane asked him, Lloyd just looked up at the nindroid, the blank expression not leaving his now pale and sunken face. 

“I'm fine…” He assured him, “I just didn't get much sleep is all…” Zane nodded and they all proceeded with their breakfast, but Sensei knew that there was something troubling his nephew. 

“Lloyd, are you sure you're okay? You look kind of sick…maybe you shouldn't train today.” He said, 

“What!? How come he doesn't have to train!?” Jay whined, but Lloyd cut in. “No uncle, I'm fine. Really. I want to train.” He said, the old man knew that training was probably not what Lloyd needed, but I'd that's what Lloyd wanted, then who was he to stop him? He sipped his tea. 

“It sounded like you were having some dream last night, Lloyd.” Kai pointed out, Lloyd took a lazy bite of his cereal. “Eh, I don't remember much of it.” He lied, trying to change the subject, he looked to Cole. “You sounded like you were having a crazy dream too, huh Cole?” He said, 

Cole, who was now more awake smiled and replied, “Yeah actually, I dreamt that I was a bodybuilder and I just became champion weightlifter of the world.” He said, 

Jay snickered, “In your dreams.” The other four couldn't help but laugh at the little quip that the Lightning ninja created. They saw what he did there. Meanwhile Cole just rolled his eyes and returned to eating like Sensei. After the laughter died down, the ninja of Ice, Fire, Lightning, and Energy returned to eating as well. Their morning had been brightened up a bit. 

Eve sighed, she knew that being sincere wouldn’t work. Even though Eve was getting along with everybody on The Bounty, the only one who didn’t get along with her was Lloyd. She only just met them, but before she worked for them, she knew each of the ninja like the back of her hand, she was one of their fans after all. Heck, she and her family actually witnessed Lloyd defeating The Overlord. 

Eve didn’t understand it. From what she knew, Lloyd was one of the ninja out of the five of them that was the kindest and had the most spunk, never gave up. He was considered the optimist of the group. But ever since Nya hired her, looked like he had pretty much given up on life as if there was no reason to live anymore. To make things harder, Eve felt like the famed golden master hated her. The guys told her that Lloyd was in a very vulnerable state from losing his father and that he just needed some space and time to get over it. But Eve still wished that there was something she could do. But for now, it appeared there was nothing she could do. No matter how hard she'd try, he was just going to pretend that she didn't exist. All she could do was keep on trying and hope that maybe eventually things will turn around for all of them. 

After breakfast the guys threw on their ninja hoods and went out on the deck to start their training for the day. They were feeling a bit better now that they were more awake and were now pumped for training. They trained for a while as Sensei watched them from a distance making sure that his presence wasn't visible to them. He was quite pleased with his pupils. They were making progress. 

Kai narrowed his brown eyes at his target and then closed them so he could focus on using all of his energy to hit it. Hands now out in front of him, he formed a fireball and in one quick move, thrusted the fireball forward sending it flying towards the target. The burning ball struck the target right in the bullseye and the fire spread causing the whole target to burn up. 

He threw his hood off for a moment and smirked proudly at what he had just done. 

“...Is it hot in here? Or is it just me?” He asked the others,  
Jay was facing the sparring. He remembered all of the times that he was humbled by the scary looking fighting bot. He remembered the time Lloyd tampered with it so it was at the hardest level and it attacked him. Then Lloyd pinned it on Zane. 

Jay smiled confidently under his ninja hood. He was going to defeat it, and this time, he was going to do it on the hardest difficulty. He cranked the knob on the side of the robot to the max and stood back as the sparring bot began to speed up and swing its many weapons around and around like a tornado. Using his normal nunchucks that sadly held no elemental powers, the master of lightning charged for the robot and managed to block some of the sparring bot’s attacks. The large armed robot began to chase him around the deck of The Destiny’s Bounty. He ran did a handspring followed by a front flip and did as the robot made a trust for Jay’s stomach, Jay was too quick for it and blocked it’s attack yet again. He then jumped high above it and landed behind it and used the lighting powers that were inside his hand to hack the robot and stop it. The sparring bot then began to shake and sparks came out of it and shut down. 

Zane was fighting the training dummies. He shot ice at the dummies and knocked some of them down and froze the others to the floorboards. He noticed that there was one left, and he shot an icicle at the dummy and struck it where the forehead would be and the dummy fell backwards. 

Lloyd was busting some spare attack dummies with his powers of energy and managed to strike down each one in one single blow. 

Cole was standing in front of some crates and charged towards them. He kicked the first one and punched the second one, and for the third and final one, he used his head to bust through. He straightened back up and looked at his teammates who defeated their enemies as well. 

“Whoo man! That sure clears up the sinuses!” Cole told the others, Jay twisted his torso a bit causing it to make a cracking noise. “Wow, that was a workout!” He said, “Yes, our powers are definitely getting even stronger.” Zane nodded, Lloyd walked over now smiling as well. “Yeah, we're doing great.” He said, at that moment, they heard someone clapping their hands. They turned to see Sensei there watching him, but there was someone else with him too. 

Sensei wasn't the only one who had witnessed their excellent training session. The housekeeper heard them training from the window while working in the study and was curious. She then decided to come up and watch them train for a few minutes. She was quite impressed with their abilities. 

“Hey guys.” She said, “Oh, hey Eve.” Jay said kindly, “You guys did great just now.” She complimented, “Oh. You saw all that?” Kai asked, Eve nodded. “Yep, I saw it all. You guy are really good. I wish I could do half the things you can do.” She said, Cole just rubbed the back of his head in modesty. “Wow...uh...thanks, Eve.” He said, “Yeah, that’s very nice of you to say.” Zane added, “No problem. Lloyd then walked over from his workout area. His forehead was sweaty yet he wasn’t out of breath. 

“Okay guys, ready for a break?” He asked the others, Eve smiled, she was happy that Lloyd was in a slightly better move. 

“I especially liked your performance, Lloyd.” She winked, Lloyd just gave her that odd look again and after a few seconds just rolled his eyes at her again and looked away from her. “Don’t you have better things to do?” He asked her in a slightly harsh tone, Eve’s smile instantly faded and even though she wasn’t crying or anything like that, the other four ninja could see the hurt in her eyes. 

“Uh..well. I-I guess you’re right, I’d better uh...better get back to organizing the study...I’ll see you guys later.” Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole then watched as Eve hastily turned on her heels and left in an obvious hurry. 

The four original ninja turned to back to face their friend. This wasn’t like Lloyd at all. Sure, he had a harder time getting along used to her than they did, but what happened there was a little uncalled for. Cole spoke up. “Lloyd, what’s wrong with you?” He asked, the Ultimate Spintizu Master looked at the other four. “What are you talking about? I’m fine.” He said seriously, the ninja of Fire, Lightning, Ice, and Earth weren’t buying it. Cole sternly folded his arms across his chest as he and the others scowled at the Green ninja. He may had been their friend, and the chosen one who saved them, but the way he’d been acting for the past week was really starting to push the limit. 

“Really? Then what was all that about? Why were you mean to Eve just there. She was complimenting you and in return you acted like she didn’t even exist.” Cole said, “Yes, it was rather hurtful of you to do.” Zane agreed nodding, then Jay cut in, “Yeah Lloyd. Why do you hate Eve?” He asked, 

Lloyd sighed as his look softened, “Look, I don’t hate Eve, okay? It’s just...ever since I lost my dad, I’ve been feeling really down about it, and...well...seeing her so happy when I’m so miserable infuriates me. I feel that she doesn’t really have the right to be so happy and then just shove it all into my face.” He explained, “I know she doesn’t mean it, but I can’t pretend that it doesn’t bother me.” As he talked, the ninjas’ eyes softened. Lloyd was now looking down at the red floorboards quietly. He had just finished explaining everything to them and by now, all four ninja kind of knew where he was coming from. Given all that he’s been through, it would make sense for him to be a bit irritable. But that didn’t excuse what Lloyd already did. Being awful to Eve, Lloyd was breaking one of the rules of being a ninja. 

“Be considerate and caring and be willing to help others...” 

The guys stared at their friend, none of them knew what to say until they noticed a familiar figure come up onto the deck and was walking towards them. It was Sensei.  
“...Lloyd...we know you miss your dad…we all miss Garmadon...but..that doesn’t mean you can take it out on Eve, she’s done nothing wrong. I’ve been watching her, Eve isn’t trying to hurt you, she wants to be your friend...Don’t push her away, or else you might regret it…” Lloyd’s face changed back to it’s annoyed expression. 

“Ugh, forget it! Why am I even discussing this with you guys!?” He snapped again, he then stormed down to the lower decks while the other four elemental descendants watched their brother walked away with wide eyes while Sensei just sighed and sadly shook his head in disappointment at his nephew. 

A few days later, the guys were out training on the deck again. Each of them were using their elemental powers to the best of their ability. Once again, Eve was watching with admiration and curiosity without any of the five ninja noticing. 

Lloyd was smiling as he threw his hood over his head and got in position ready to attack one of the last training dummies that was left standing. But suddenly on the dummies’ face? He saw Chen’s face. His evil smile mocking him. 

“You weak fool! You think that simply banishing me to The Cursed Realm was enough to defeat me!? You are weak, pathetic, and can't do anything without your precious friends! You even needed your father to save you again! Well, he’s not here to save you now!” The imaginary Chen taunted. This only fueled Lloyd’s anger. He built up enough power in his hands and struck the training dummy with everything he had. 

The other four ninja heard something crash behind them. They looked to Lloyd’s area to see that he had just smashed the dummy with a ball of his green energy. He was seething with anger. This had the guys slightly taken aback. Eve ran over to the ninja and decided to be the one to approach him. 

“Whoa, Lloyd. You okay?” Eve asked him, he was about to put his hand on the Green Ninja’s shoulder but Lloyd stopped her. 

“Don't touch me!” He snapped, Eve stepped back a bit. “Sorry.” She said, “I don’t know why you’re even bothering with me! Just do me a favor and stay away from me!” He yelled, Eve felt tears pool up in her eyes, then her face got angry. She had tried to be patient, she had tried everything in her power to give him a chance, but she finally had enough of his attitude. He had now officially crossed the line. 

“I don't know what your problem is! I've tried to understand your situation, I've tried to be supportive. But you just keep pushing me away as if I did something wrong! What did I ever do to you!? All I wanted was to be your friend just like I am with everybody else! I was one of your biggest fans before I started working here! When I got the job, I felt so excited that I was going to work for you!...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “...But now I see that you aren’t the same ninja that I admired…If you want me gone so badly...then I’ll leave...” She then headed for the stairs that led to the lower decks. “I’ll be out of here tomorrow…” She then stopped. She didn’t even bother facing him. 

“Goodbye Lloyd…” Was all she said before disappearing below deck, 

The masters of Fire, Lightning, Ice, and Earth all stood there with their mouths agape at what they had just witnessed. 

“...Did Eve just quit?” Jay asked his fellow ninja, “Yeah.” Cole replied, 

“Lloyd how could you do that!? Now Eve’s quitting!” Jay yelled at Lloyd, the former hero of Ninjago who was now staring after her, had a new look plastered on his face. 

Guilt. 

The Green Ninja looked to his uncle who just sighed and shook his head at him once again disappointed in him. Lloyd then headed for the lower decks as well. On his way to the guys room, he passed by Eve’s room where the door was locked and he could hear her soft sobs on the other side. The remorse in him got stronger when he heard these cries. Without saying anything, he went further down the hall to his room and shut the door behind him. 

The next morning, Eve got up and got dressed and entered the kitchen, suitcase in hand, looking absolutely miserable. She was going home today. She admitted that she was going to miss working with the ninja and she knew that they’d all miss her...Well, except for Lloyd anyway. 

Speaking of Lloyd, Eve saw Misako sitting at the small table that was in the kitchen reading from a scroll while sipping a cup of tea. She looked up and noticed Eve standing there in the doorway and beamed at her, the middle aged creases in her face crinkling as she smiled. 

“Good morning, Eve.” She greeted kindly, her voice was firm but also gentle, loving, and maternal like a mother’s voice should be. 

Eve weakly smiled back, “Hey Misako.” She replied, it was then Misako noticed the rolling suitcase that the young housekeeper had beside her. 

“What are you doing with that bag, dear?” She asked her, Eve sighed, “I quit.” She said sadly looking at the floor, Misako’s eyes widened. “You quit? But why?” She asked, Eve angrily folded her arms across your chest. “Ask your son.” She grumbled, 

“What? Lloyd? He’s the reason you're quitting?” She asked her, Eve nodded, “What’s the problem? Surely you two can work it out.” The Dark Lord’s former wife assured her, 

“Forget it, Misako. Lloyd really crossed the line. I’m done with him!” She snapped, knowing that it was rude to shout, Eve sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry…” She apologized,  
Lloyd’s mother just smiled and waved her off. “Aww it’s okay. You’re in a pretty stressful situation right now….but surely you don’t have to quit.” She said, “Thank you, Misako. But my mind is made up.” Eve replied not even giving a second thought, Misako gestured to the empty chair across from her. “Come on now...I know there’s some way we can work this out…” She encouraged, hesitating for a second, Eve went over and sat down in the chair. She looked Misako in the eye waiting for her to say something. 

“So, what’s the problem between you and my son?” She asked her, Eve bit her lip. “Well…” She began, 

Lloyd woke up this time before everyone else. The first thing he did after waking up was going to the bathroom to do his “business”. He cleaned up and exited the bathroom and began heading back for the ninjas’ room, but he stopped and turned when he heard talking down the hall that was coming from the kitchen. He decided to investigate. As he got closer, the voices became clearer and more recognizable. He recognized the one voice as Eve, and the other one as...his mother? What was his mother talking to Eve about? He leaned against the wall next to the doorway to the kitchen as Eve continued to talk. He began to eavesdrop on their conversation. 

“...And it’s not that I don’t like Lloyd or that I don’t like working for him...but...ever since I was hired, I’ve been getting along great with everyone...except for Lloyd...Everytime I try to be nice or patient with him, he’ll just treat me horribly in return. He hurt my feelings, too many times to count and I can’t work for someone who treats me that way.” Eve explained, “...He hates me…” 

After hearing this, Lloyd felt really bad now, even worse than before. Lloyd realized that he was stupid for treating her poorly all this time when he really should’ve treated her more like a friend. 

“Lloyd doesn’t hate you...he’s just having a hard time getting used to you is all...between that and losing his father, he’s not the spunky ninja that he was before. But I do know my son, and I know that he doesn’t really hate you...he really likes you...maybe you should give him another chance…” Misako suggested, 

“I don’t know if I can do that, Misako...I mean, he’s hurt me before, how do I know he won’t hurt me again?”

Lloyd decided to speak up and say something. 

The Green Ninja revealed himself in the doorway to his mother and Eve. They both instantly took notice of his presence knowing that he had heard everything they just said. Still not wanting to face him, Eve folded her arms across her chest and looked the other way. 

“Well lookie what we have here...It’s Ninjago’s very own Green Savior! The guy who thinks that he’s so amazing that he can just push around anyone he pleases!” Eve said mockingly, 

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head ashamed of himself. “Look Eve, I’m..I’m really sorry for how I treated you and how all this turned out...The truth is…you’re really cool and I was just too stupid and blind to see it. I was too busy moping about my father and wallowing in my own self-pity to treat you like a friend...I promise to treat you better and I’m hoping you’ll reconsider your decision to quit and be our housekeeper again, and maybe we can start over...as friends?...That is...if you want to…” He said, 

The housekeeper stared the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master in the eye as he stood there trying to keep his cool. After a minute, she smiled and nodded. “Alright Lloyd. I accept your apology, and I’ll stay here...and I would love to be your friend…” Lloyd nodded back. “...So...we’re cool now, right?” He asked her, Eve smiled laughing a bit. “We’re cool.” She said, Misako smiled for she was happy that the two made up and decided that her work here was done. She got up from the table and went to the stove to start breakfast while Eve walked into the hallway heading back to her room taking her suitcase with her so she could unpack and put all of her belongings back where they were. She stopped and looked at Lloyd. “Once again, about your father...I really am sorry…” She said sadly, Lloyd sighed, “It’s okay...It’s time for me to move on…” He replied, even though he said it was fine, Eve could still see it in Lloyd’s face that he was still torn up about the situation. If only there was something she could do. 

“...There has to be a way…” She said, Lloyd looked at her odd, “Huh?” He replied, “There has to be a way to get your father back. I know there’s a way to get him back from the Cursed Realm.” She said encouragingly, 

“But...we destroyed the spellbook! That was the only way to get in and out of the Cursed Realm! There’s no other way in!” Lloyd told her, 

“There’s another way! I can feel it!” Eve smiled at him, Lloyd smiled weakly at her and then sadly looked down at the floorboards. Eve put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey...we’ll find him…” She said, 

“...I promise…” 

Phew! That took me forever to write! I’m done! *faints* Welp, there was Chapter 3! So Lloyd and Eve are friends now! Yay!  
^^ and now Eve believes there is a solution to breaking Lord Garmadon out of the Cursed Realm. Will they succeed? Find out in the next chapter! Peace out! ;)


	5. Chapter 4: Into The Cursed Realm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter...but hey, the next one will be longer ;)

“Wait a minute! What did you just say!?” Jay yelled, 

Everyone was now gathered in the bridge. Eve had just explained to them what she told Lloyd. 

“Guys, I know it's a long shot, but we gotta try.” Eve said, “I made a promise to Lloyd that we'll get his father back, and dammit I'm gonna keep it.” She smiled at the mentioned ninja when she said that. He just smiled in return. 

“But Eve, there's no way into the Cursed Realm. We destroyed the spell book so we're pretty much at a dead end. And even if we did have the spellbook, we'd have no way back. This mission is impossible to complete.” Zane explained to her, 

“Not exactly.” Nya spoke up, they all turned to her. She was typing on the bridge’s large computer. The huge screen showed a map of Ninjago and she then narrowed down on one spot. 

“We may have destroyed the book, but the ashes still contain the magic that it had before. If we can get to the Corridor of Elders and get those ashes, we can use them to create a new vortex that can get us in and out in a jiff!” She explained, 

“Wait, it was the book that contained the magic? Now the actual spells?” Kai said in amazement, Nya turned to her brother and nodded, “Yep. Otherwise you would be reading pointless mumbo jumbo.” She replied, 

“Well then, next stop: Corridor of Elders…” Cole said, “Okay, when you find the ashes, toss them into the air and the gateway will open.” Nya instructed, “Let's go guys.” Lloyd said ambitiously, the guys threw on their ninja hoods and were exiting the bridge when Eve stopped them. 

“Wait! What about us? Can we come?” She asked referring to herself and Nya, “Sorry ladies, but it's too dangerous for you.” Jay said, “Jay’s right, it's too risky...this is a job for the ninja.” Kai agreed, “We just don't want either of you to get hurt.” Lloyd told them, Eve pursed her bottom lip out in a pouting expression while Nya just sighed in disappointment. 

“Well, stay safe, guys…” She said with a weak smile, “Don't worry, girls. Some other time.” Cole said as if he was promising them something, the five of them then took off leaving Eve, Nya, and Sensei Wu behind. Eve watched from the large window that looked out onto the top deck as they activated their elemental dragons one-by-one and took off towards the skies. 

Eve sighed, “They don't understand...we can help too...I wish we could go with them…” She said sadly, she sulked over to the briefing table and Nya sat down next to her. She didn't look too happy either. Nya always hated it when the guys excluded her out of stuff. It wasn't fair. 

“Yeah...it's too bad that we can't follow them to the Corridor of Elders...oh wait…” The young samurai held up a set of keys and jingled them with a smile. Eve looked up and noticed the keys and was confused. Those were the keys to the Prototype X1 Roadster. The guys showed Eve the awesome car when she was first hired. 

“...We can…” Nya finished with a mischievous smirk, Eve’s face brightened up and the two underestimated women looked to Sensei who just smiled and gave them both a nod of approval. Both Nya and Eve hurried out of the bridge as well. The old wise man follows close behind. 

The ninja flew their dragons to the Corridor of Elders. It didn't take long for the enormous carvings of the great Elders of Ninjago to come into view. 

“There it is, fellas...the Corridor of Elders…” Kai told the others, the five of them landed and their dragons disappeared as the ninja fell and landed on their feet. 

“Alright, let’s get those ashes.” Cole said starting to look around, Lloyd looked all around admiring all of the statues of those who came before him. Then one particular carving caught his eye. 

It was his father’s…

He stared up at it feeling an ache in his heart. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, they were going to get him back. But he still missed him. 

Kai noticed this and walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to save him. Come on, let's get the ashes.” He said encouragingly, they then all began to head for the place where they burnt the book. 

Not far away from where they landed, the Prototype X1 Roadster stopped abrupt and out came Nya, Eve, and Sensei Wu. Eve looked around at the large mountain pass. 

“So this is the place?” She asked, “Mhm.” Nya nodded, “Nothing's really changed since we were last here.” She noted, 

“So where are the ashes of the book.” Eve asked, “Follow me.” Nya urged her, she headed off in the same direction that the ninja went and Eve and Sensei followed close behind. 

The five ninja walked up to the high area where they burned the book a few months prior. Being up there again brought them back to when they fought Chen and his army. That was one of the most brutal battles they had ever endured. The fire that had burned there was no long put out and the ashes still remained. It surprised them that the ashes were still here, they expected that they had been flown across the landscapes of Ninjago by now. 

“Bingo!” Jay said, “We got ‘em!” Zane carefully scooped up the black ashes and put them in a bottle. He looked at them closely, the black dust sifted in the bottle as he tilted it a little. Then in the ashes there was a small stream of purple magic that seeped through. 

“These are the ashes alright.” The nindroid confirmed, he turned to the other ninja. “Now all we need to do is toss them into the air and the vortex should open. 

Just then, they heard a sneeze. They all turned towards the noise. Behind one of the rocks they could hear voices. 

“What was that for!?” One voice hissed, it was high-pitched and feminine. Then another voice spoke up, “Sorry! It's dusty out here.” They recognized those voices. 

“...Eve? Nya?” Kai spoke up, the voices fell silent and after a moment, both girls emerged from behind the rock. 

Eve smiled sheepishly, “Uh...Hey guys…” She said, 

“Eve! Nya! What are you guys doing here!? We told you to stay behind!” Lloyd yelled, 

Nya spoke up, “Sorry guys, it's just...we just really wanted to help.” Then Sensei came out from behind the rock as well. 

“If Eve and Nya desire to help, then we should respect their wish.” He said, 

“Wait! Sensei! You knew about this!?” Jay yelled, 

Kai walked up to his sister and put his hands on her shoulders. “You can't be here, sis. We're about to open the door to the Cursed Realm. It's dangerous there and I don't want you getting sucked in with us...I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you...I’d never forgive myself…” Nya sadly looked at her brother. He really looked concerned for her safety. 

“Please Kai...I can handle it…” She said, Kai’s hard look softened, even though he was protective of her, he could never say no to her face. 

He sighed. “Fine, you can come with us.” He said, Nya’s face brightened up upon hearing that. The Fire ninja just smiled at his little sister and gave her a hug to which she returned. He turned back towards the others and gave Zane a nod. The robot ninja opened the bottle full of ashes and tossed them up into the air. A swirling blue vortex similar to the one that they saw before appeared in the sky and and began blowing wind around them. Sensei and Eve stood back with worry but in one bold move, Eve ran over to stand with the ninja and Nya. She stood right beside Lloyd. 

He looked over at her confused. “What are you doing!?” He asked yelling above the high winds 

“I'm coming with you!” Eve yelled back, 

“No you're not! It's too dangerous!” Lloyd replied, 

“Please! I can hold my own! Just give me a chance!” She pleaded, then Jay spoke up. “Lloyd there's no time! We have to take her with us!” He said, he then looked to Eve. “Eve, can you throw a punch?” He asked her, Eve smiled and nodded, “You bet I can!” She said, “Then you’re in!” Jay smiled with a wink, 

“Yes!” Eve cheered, the Green Ninja looked at the housekeeper and she smiled mischievously and stuck her tongue out at him. He just rolled his eyes. 

The vortex began to grow stronger and they were almost ready to jump in. 

“Remember to fight side by side and protect one another. Find my brother...Bring him home...go ninja...go…” Sensei said, 

They knew it was time. Taking deep breaths, the seven of them jumped up and the vortex sucked them all in. They flew around inside the vortex as they were sucked inside. Eve grabbed hold of one of the ninja, but it was so screwed up inside the vortex that she couldn’t tell which one she was clinging to. 

They all screamed as they fell into the abyss of the portal and in one huge sonic blast, the vortex closed and they vanished.


End file.
